When asked if the PGR series was partof Microsoft’s plans for Xbox One, Spencer replied, “Maybe,” and added, “The Kudos system we had in PGR was the real secret sauce. That was the thing people really loved. It had a great feel. It was there at launch, which I think was important, for both the original Xbox and Xbox 360.

“It’s funny. I was playing the new Need for Speed on Xbox One the other day. That team and EA are doing an amazing job. The next game looks fantastic in that arcade racer space. Some of the rumours around PGR were probably us working on Forza Horizon with Playground, and people were guessing it was a PGR game.”

The future of the franchise has hung in the balance since developer Bizarre Creations was shuttered by parent Activision. That said, the PGR series does come up in conversation at Microsoft.

Spencer revealed, “We talk. Alan Hartman [Turn 10 studio manager] and I talk about PGR. We’re full in the racing space right now when we think about our franchises. But I know there is a lot of love for that franchise out there, and it would be interesting to think about what we could do. I don’t think we would ever have three console racing franchises. That seems like a lot for a first-party, with Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport.”

He concluded, “Forza Horizon is not PGR from an arcade style, but it’s not me sitting on a circuit running lap after lap. It’s more of an open world. There’s maybe an opportunity for us to look at some of the stuff that worked in PGR and think about how to…”

What do you think then? Has PGR had its day or could it happily co-exist among other racers out there? Let us know below.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/11/01/project-gotham-racing-revival-seems-unlikely-as-spencer-deems-racing-space-full/feed/17Geometry Wars Xbox One: “conversations have been had”, says Spencerhttp://www.vg247.com/2013/09/13/geometry-wars-xbox-one-conversations-have-been-had-says-spencer/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/09/13/geometry-wars-xbox-one-conversations-have-been-had-says-spencer/#commentsFri, 13 Sep 2013 11:03:41 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=407770Geometry Wars may be owned by Activision now, but that doesn’t mean an Xbox One reprisal is off the table. It’s been discussed, according to Microsoft’s Phil Spencer.

Originally a running Easter Egg in the Project Gotham Racing series by Bizarre Creations, the Geometry Wars series branched out into a standalone line of shooters that was eventually bought when Activision acquired the studio.

Spencer was quizzed about a return to Geometry Wars on Twitter.

@Steverulez I like GW, great game from the old Bizarre Creations. ATVI picked up IP when they bought BC.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/09/13/geometry-wars-xbox-one-conversations-have-been-had-says-spencer/feed/2Blur follow-up prototype footage releasedhttp://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/blur-follow-up-prototype-footage-released/
http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/blur-follow-up-prototype-footage-released/#commentsMon, 07 Jan 2013 03:08:13 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=327611Bizarre Creations has been lost to time, but you can gaze upon these videos of what might have been had it ever produced a racer to follow Blur.

Former Bizarre Creations staffer Chris Davie released the two videos on his Tumblr. Although he doesn’t explictly call the game Blur 2, it is referred to as a prototype of the developer’s final, unannounced project.

The prototype used tech and assets from Blur, but the first video shows Bizarre experimenting with new visual effects, primarily storms over the Brighton track.

A second video, from closer to alpha stage, shows off a whole new engine that was never used.

“When we were told the project was being canned and that the studio was facing closer, I bloody mindedly decided to keep working on the art on this track, so much work had gone into the game already, it seemed a shame that nobody would get to play a finished track, even the dev team, so my goal was to get this Dubai track as close to final as I could before the lights went out for good,” Davie said.

“A couple of guys chipped in here and there and got some nice new bits for their (soon to be required) portfolios, and I started grabbing old assets from previous projects to fill in bits of the scene that hadn’t been started.”

Davie said the track still needed destructible objects and animated scenery to be in a complete alpha form.

Although nothing makes up for the loss of a great development team and its vision, it’s awesome to get a chance to see what Bizarre Creations had on its plate when marching orders came.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2013/01/07/blur-follow-up-prototype-footage-released/feed/3Fur Fighters to release on other platforms if iPad version does wellhttp://www.vg247.com/2012/07/20/fur-fighters-to-release-on-other-platforms-if-ipad-version-does-well/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/07/20/fur-fighters-to-release-on-other-platforms-if-ipad-version-does-well/#respondFri, 20 Jul 2012 16:58:24 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=278780The Dreamcast favorite Fur Fighters is back, but this time, it’s heading to iPad thanks to Mark Craig and Jeff Lewis of Muffin Games, both ex-Bizarre staffers and current Lucid Games developers. The duo have spent 200 hours of free time porting the gamer to the system, using the PC version of the game. According to Lewis, who did the character design on the original game, bought the rights to the title from Bizarre creative director, Martyn Chudley, for a fiver. There are plans to release the game on other platforms in the future, providing the iPad version does well. Game’s out now. More on Eurogamer.
]]>http://www.vg247.com/2012/07/20/fur-fighters-to-release-on-other-platforms-if-ipad-version-does-well/feed/0Totem Games formed by ex-Bizarre man and Blur designer, Matt Cavanaghhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/07/08/totem-games-formed-by-ex-bizarre-man-and-blur-designer-matt-cavanagh/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/07/08/totem-games-formed-by-ex-bizarre-man-and-blur-designer-matt-cavanagh/#commentsFri, 08 Jul 2011 12:51:42 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=185171Blur’s lead designer Matt Cavanagh has formed a studio called Totem Games.

The former Bizarre Creations man formed the independent studio after redundancies were made by Activision earlier in the year.

Not much is known about the start up just yet, but according to GI.biz, the new company is registered only to Cavanagh.

Hirshberg, in an interview with Joystiq, said that the genre “had shrunk, pretty precipitously.”

“The thing that Bizarre is best at and what they’re known for and what their signature is is in the racing world,” he told the site.

“And the decision had as much to do with our assessment of what was happening to the racing genre as it had to do with anything specific to Bizarre. We just didn’t think that was the best place for us to put our competitive energies.”

After releasing racing game Blur last May – which didn’t respond well in terms of sales – Bizarre’s final title would be James Bond title Blood Stone in November.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/06/23/hirshberg-shrinking-racing-genre-killed-bizarre-creations/feed/13Bizarre staffers discuss closure, why it was sold to Activisionhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/05/20/bizarre-staffers-discuss-closure-why-it-was-sold-to-activision/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/05/20/bizarre-staffers-discuss-closure-why-it-was-sold-to-activision/#commentsFri, 20 May 2011 20:32:57 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=172283Bizarre Creations’ creative director, Martyn Chudley, has said that before the firm’s buyout by Activision, Bizarre was doing well financially and had “several potential projects” to work on.

Speaking an interview with Edge, along with former Bizarre members Sarah Chudley and Gareth Wilson, Martyn Chundley said the reason Bizarre was signed over to Activision in the first place was to “safeguard the future,” of the firm.

“We had money in the bank, and several potential projects to work on,” said Chudley. “However, coming towards the end of Project Gotham Racing 4 and The Club, we took a decision that – as signing up new projects was a time-consuming and costly venture – affiliating ourselves more closely to a publisher would help provide security [to] safeguard the future, given that there would be no downtime between projects, or needing to go though the whole demo/pitch/negotiate cycle.

“Activision’s desire for a racing project just seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Also, with our then current partners, Microsoft didn’t want an action team, and Sega didn’t need a racing team. With Activision, with the racing desire and Bond licence, the entire studio was deemed a great fit.

“We were always proudly independent, and we always tried our best to do what we felt was right for our people, the games and the company. However, when Activision took over, we – and they themselves, I’m sure – really felt that they would leave our culture alone, and for a while it was fine, but slowly, as it seems happens with many corporate takeovers, the feeling did start to change. We weren’t an independent studio making ‘our’ games any more – we were making games to fill slots. Although we did all believe in them, they were more the products of committees and analysts.

“And when you add in corporate HR, corporate email, etc, the culture we’d worked on for so long gradually eroded just enough that it wasn’t ‘ours’ any more.”

“Why Bizarre was closed is way beyond my pay scale,” added Gareth Wilson, now with Sumo Digital. “If you want a personal opinion, though, I think it was a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances. If anything, the mistake we made was underestimating how difficult it was getting a new IP off the ground at this stage of the console cycle, especially in the racing space, which tends to perform better when a new console is launched.”

“Bizarre had grown even more since they took over, and we just don’t have the skills, capability or finances to look after over 200 people,” added Sarah Chudley. “Martyn and I were always small-company people, which is why we stepped aside when we realised it needed big-company skills to manage.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/05/20/bizarre-staffers-discuss-closure-why-it-was-sold-to-activision/feed/10Chudley: Bizarre Creations could have bought itself outhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/04/06/chudley-bizarre-creations-could-have-bought-itself-out/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/04/06/chudley-bizarre-creations-could-have-bought-itself-out/#commentsWed, 06 Apr 2011 14:28:33 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=161452Some former Bizarre Creations executives have spoken up in the latest Edge about the developer’s closure, and have revealed that Activision offered a management buyout option on the 17 year-old company.

CVG’s posted up some quotes from the mag, in which founder Martyn Chudley said idea of reverting to indie status was raised before closure.

“Without going into details, yes, there was [a chance to buy the studio back], but I personally thought that there was far greater potential for the security and well-being of the company if a third-party could come in. Sadly, this was not to be the case,” he said.

Sarah Chudley added that the necessary structure wasn’t in place to take the business back on.

“Bizarre had grown even more since [Activision] took over, and we just don’t have the skills, capability or finances to look after over 200 people,” she said.

“Martyn and I were always small-company people, which is why we stepped aside when we realised it needed big-company skills to manage.”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/04/06/chudley-bizarre-creations-could-have-bought-itself-out/feed/1Bizarre was “too ambitious” under Activision, says ex-stafferhttp://www.vg247.com/2011/03/29/bizarre-was-too-ambitious-under-activision-says-ex-staffer/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/29/bizarre-was-too-ambitious-under-activision-says-ex-staffer/#commentsTue, 29 Mar 2011 15:15:01 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=159442Ex Bizarre team member, and now founder of recently-opened iOS studio Hogrocket, Ben Ward, has said the PGR and Blur developer was “too ambitious” whilst it was under the control of Activision.

“It’s not enough to point the finger at one little factor and say, ‘that’s it'” he told EG.

“Creatively you could say that the studio was too ambitious, with one team tackling multi-platform development for the first time as well as building a brand new racing IP, and the other team creating an action/adventure game for one of the most iconic characters in history.

“However, both games were generally rated well critically so I don’t think that argument holds too much water.”

Ward admitted it was an adjustment to become an internal studio for a massive publisher rather than stay independent, admitting it was difficult. He doesn’t blame Activision for what happened, though.

“Some of us (myself included) found it difficult working under a huge publisher; moving from proudly independent to an internal team took a lot of getting used to. We lost that ability to say what we want, do what we want, and (most importantly) make what we want.

“I don’t blame Activision for that – it’s just the way things work when you become internalised. It certainly affected the atmosphere at the studio; for better or worse Bizarre became more ‘corporate’.”

Bizarre Creations closed last month after 17 years following poor sales of new IP Blur and James Bond: Blood Stone. But raised from its ashes was Hogrocket and fellow studio Lucid Games.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/29/bizarre-was-too-ambitious-under-activision-says-ex-staffer/feed/9Vicarious, Raven Software, High Moon defend Activision in wake of lay-offshttp://www.vg247.com/2011/03/15/vicarious-raven-software-high-moon-defend-activision-in-wake-of-lay-offs/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/15/vicarious-raven-software-high-moon-defend-activision-in-wake-of-lay-offs/#commentsTue, 15 Mar 2011 05:37:13 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=156098The vocal minority’s opinions only mean so much, but when it’s calling you “the evil empire,” it might be time to set the record straight. Such was the aim of a recent PAX East panel, during which Activision-owned studios Vicarious Visions, Raven Software, and High Moon stormed the stage with some sunshine and butterflies to balance out the publisher’s heaping helping of doom and gloom.

Activision, of course, recently put the Guitar Hero series out of its misery and made us miserable by disbanding Bizarre Creations. Despite that, however, Vicarious Visions executive producer Jennifer O’Neal didn’t feel at all that her studio could be next on the chopping block, saying that it’s “not in as risky of a position as we were when we were independent.”

She also added that Vicarious’ growth into new areas of technology – such as motion capture – wouldn’t have been possible without Activision’s financial backing.

Singularity dev Raven Software, meanwhile, chimed in with perspective from back in its days as an independent contractor. The take away point? Contractors were far more iron-fisted in their approaches than alleged Dark Lord Kotick.

“If we didn’t turn in a milestone every month that wasn’t exactly what was listed in our contract they wouldn’t pay us,” said project lead Eric Biessman. In the end, he added, his company’s head was forced to pay employees with credit cards. The trade-off? Activision’s not entirely hands-off – especially when a new IP’s involved.

“It’s more work for us to make sure they feel it’s worth it,” said Biessman.

High Moon head Peter Della Penna then took the mic to heap praise on Activision’s “independent studio model,” explaining that – while the publisher expects products that are polished until they shine – it’s never forced High Moon to be something it’s not.

In addition – contrary to popular belief – Activision doesn’t force developers into working on franchises against their will. Della Penna explained that Activision doesn’t always suggest franchises that fit his studio, but ultimately, he has the final say.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/03/15/vicarious-raven-software-high-moon-defend-activision-in-wake-of-lay-offs/feed/3Lucid Games formed by ex-Bizarre devshttp://www.vg247.com/2011/02/25/lucid-games-formed-by-ex-bizarre-devs/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/25/lucid-games-formed-by-ex-bizarre-devs/#commentsFri, 25 Feb 2011 08:33:14 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=151745Seven days after Bizarre Creations shut down, some of its ex staff has gone on to form Lucid Games.

The studio, based in the north west of England, is being led by former senior manager at Bizarre, Pete Wallace, with a handful of Bizarre alumni also on board.

It’s hoping to create at least 50 posts.

“With the great history of Bizarre behind us, we are proud to be part of Lucid and are committed to the UK game development community,” said Wallace.

“We plan to build a studio which encourages open communication with its partners, customers and other developers.”

Speaking in an interview with the Liverpool Daily Post, commercial director Andy Davidson said it looks to get back to the kind of level Bizarre was at which made it a key buy for Activision.

“We want to get back to the levels of innovation and creativity at Bizarre that made Activision so keen to acquire it,” he said.

“The landscape of the industry has changed massively even in the time from when Bizarre was acquired. In particular getting a new IP noticed at this stage of the console cycle combined with the global economic situation meaning gamers are less willing to ‘take a risk’ is really difficult.”

Wilson is referring to the release of racer Blur, which didn’t do too well in terms of sales when it was first release lasy May, going up against Black Rock’s Split/Second and Sony’s ModNation Racers in the same period.

“The release date probably didn’t help,” said Wilson, “but nowadays that ‘middle ground’ of two to three million sales is getting harder to find. Games either ‘break out’ and sell four million plus, or really struggle to break even. Also the quality bar has risen enormously. Did you know there were more 80 per cent plus rated games in 2010 than any other year?”

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/21/ex-senior-bizarre-chap-joins-sumo-digital/feed/10Bizarre Creations RIP – 1994-2011http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/18/bizarre-creations-rip-1994-2011/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/18/bizarre-creations-rip-1994-2011/#commentsFri, 18 Feb 2011 10:13:20 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=149724A staffer has put together a final salute to UK developer Bizarre Creations, which Activision will close today. Words are pointless. The very best of luck to everyone involved.

Bizarre Creations will be most fondly known for the Metropolis Street Racer series. It sold to Activision in 2007.

To the Liverpool massive: we salute you.

]]>http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/14/report-bizarre-creations-will-close-on-friday/feed/29Lewie’s Weekly Deals – PS minis, Brutal Legend, XBLA retro shootershttp://www.vg247.com/2011/02/07/lewies-weekly-deals-ps-minis-brutal-legend-xbla-retro-shooters/
http://www.vg247.com/2011/02/07/lewies-weekly-deals-ps-minis-brutal-legend-xbla-retro-shooters/#commentsMon, 07 Feb 2011 15:40:01 +0000http://www.vg247.com/?p=145730Here’s your weekly dose of cheap games for all formats. It’s relatively slim pickings this week, but there’s some excellent games that you might have missed first time round for just a few quid each. For your constantly updated guide to gaming on the cheap, make sure to check out SavyGamer.co.uk.

This week’s games are after the cut.

PSP Minis sale

There’s a sale on Sony’s somewhat flawed democratised game distribution service, the PSP Minis. I’ve been able to confirm that all of the games on sale are PS3 compatible, except for Championship Manager 2010 Express which I am unsure about. They’re all reduced to 99p, here’s the selection:

I saw this the other day, and having now checked, it is the cheapest this is available for anywhere that I can find. I loved Double Fine’s metal-fuelled adventure, and at that price, I reckon everyone should give it a try. I would be linking to the Metacritic page now, but it looks like Metacritic is down at the minute. I seem to recall it getting a mixed reception at release, but bollocks to the haters, I think it great. Are you as excited for Stacking as I am?

I’ve not yet played the most recent entry in the Stalker series, I’m saving it til after I am done with Shadow of Chernobyl, but word on the street is that it’s arguably the best game in the series yet. This has been cheaper digitally more than once, but if you want the disc version then this is the best price I’ve seen since release. Hopefully we’ll hear some proper news on the proper sequel, Stalker 2 soon, but it’s not out til 2012. Assuming it doesn’t get massively delayed.

Activision’s confirmed to Develop it has made a “recommendation” that Bizarre Creations closes.

Activision’s Worldwide Studios’ COO Cody Johnson told the site it had tried to “find a buyer” for the Liverpool-based developer.

“I want to be clear, our first choice was to try and keep this group together and find a buyer for the studio,” he said, adding it had “explored a lot of leads – pretty much anyone you can imagine in the industry.”

But Johnson said that it was not able find any “interested parties,” saying the recommendation was a “last resort”.

“But unfortunately, so far we’ve not been able to find and interested parties. So we’ve made as a last resort, a recommendation to the team for closure.”

An anonymous staff member over at Bizarre Creations has said several companies are showing interest in purchasing the developer from Activision, since it was revealed the firm had put the developer on a 90-day notice.

Speaking with Develop, the staffer told the site studio management held a second meeting with staff, and said all may not be so glum as previously thought.

“That meeting really lifted the mood here, I think, because we’ve been told that there’s multiple parties interested in buying us,” said the source. “We are still on consultation for ninety days, but things look much better than they did last night or this morning. Things here are changing at such a quick pace.”

The source didn’t name interested parties, because – “he doesn’t want to take risks by naming companies that seem eager to step in and save the studio”, said Develop, but a separate conversation revealed Microsoft “showing an interest”.

“Microsoft aren’t stupid,” he said, “they know we’re talented and have spoken to Activision about us.”

Activision staffer Dan Amrich has carpet-bombed Twitter about the reporting of news that Activision is “exploring options” related to Bizarre Creations, claiming the studio has not “closed,” and that some are “wallowing in the worst possible outcome”.

“I guess it’s the difference between accepting reality or wallowing in the worst possible outcome,” said the Activision-employed blogger, in response to criticism on Twitter of a blog post in which he claimed the studio is merely “going to go through some sort of change”.

“Consider firstly that the studio is not dead, so there’s no demise — let’s get the facts straight, lest we see hysteria,” he said.

When it was highlighted by VG247 that he had picked a Gamasutra piece on the matter specifically because it wasn’t “hysterical” – with the obvious assumption being that other reports were – Amrich added, “You have twisted my words. I’m not cheering this news, but I also think that some people have reported it too strongly.”

Multiple reports – including Amrich’s own, although he’s since said on Twitter he was “following Gamasutra’s lead” on the subject – have said the studio’s staff been put on a 90-day redundancy notice.

As the steadfastly non-hysterical Gamasutra notes, the 90-day notice is a legal requirement in the UK.

Activision released a statement in the wake of rumour of up to 200 staff being let go, saying, “Blur did not find a commercial audience” and the publisher is now “exploring options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business.”

Amrich said the move gives time for Bizarre staff to “prepare”.

“Well, a buyer could keep everything as is,” he said. “It’s certainly not good news, but at least folks can prepare for change.”

He went on: “Is it possible the studio will close? Is it possible the studio will change? Is it possible the studio will be sold as is? Yes.”

And added further: “When some people hear bad news, they want to focus on it. I’m not in that camp. I hate bad news but I’d rather think critically.”

One more for luck: “I am prepared for the worst but hoping for the best — that’s all. There are a lot of talented people there; not giving up on them.”

Don’t give up on them, Dan. And the rest of you; stop wallowing, will you?

Following the release of Treyarch’s Quantum of Solace in 2008, James Bond is about to return to gaming after a two-year break.

This year sees a unique situation for the IP, as two different games in the series will not only release in 2010, but they’re also hitting on the same day in the UK: Eurocom’s Goldeneye 007 for Wii and DS and Bizarre Creations’ Blood Stone for PS3, 360, PC and DS will be out on November 5.

It’s the latter we’re focusing on today, however, as we talk to game director Jeff Lewis and audio director Emma Jackson about working with Daniel Craig and Joss Stone, if the delay to the latest Bond film affected them in any way, and more.

[Interview by Johnny Cullen]

VG247: Bizarre has a great history with racing games like Project Gotham Racing and Blur, as well as creating a third-person shooter like The Club. Was there ever a worry about combining the two together for a game, even one as big as James Bond?

Jeff Lewis: Bizarre has been making driving games and action games side-by-side for the best part of 20 years. We’ve been looking for the chance to bring the two together for the whole of that 20 years. We saw it as an opportunity to realise one of the studio’s creative goals.

VG247: Both Daniel Craig and Judi Dench have experience in previous Bond titles, as well as work in Goldeneye. Still, what was it like to work with them?

Emma Jackson: Getting to meet an A-List Hollywood star like Daniel Craig, is a great perk of the job, but it’s also a little scary too as you’re not sure what to expect. However, it turned out that there was nothing to be nervous about, as he was a really nice guy, who seemed genuinely interested in our game.

At the beginning of the session we gave him a short play-through of our pre-credits level, which he seemed really enthusiastic about. The actual recording session itself went very smoothly, and he was quite happy to suggest alternative lines, if he felt something in the script wasn’t quite in keeping with something that his Bond character would say.

VG247: Joss Stone was a very interesting choice for a Bond girl, if I’m honest. How did that come about? Likewise, what was she like?

Emma Jackson: Working with Joss Stone was great. Obviously she loves to act, and you could tell that she was really passionate about working on the project, which made her a real joy to work with.

VG247: Dave Stewart from Euryhmics was brought in to do the theme. That was a bit of a coup, as well as getting Joss to do vocals on it. When did that first happen?

Emma Jackson: As far as I’m aware, Joss organised this herself but I’m not sure the particulars around it.

VG247: With the latest Bond movie now delayed indefinitely, did that give you a great deal of concern in coming up for the story for Blood Stone?

Jeff Lewis: By the time that MGM announced its news, Blood Stone was already deep in development. We have always been thrilled with delivering this original storyline and hopefully this will try to fill that void for Bond film fans.

VG247: With Goldeneye’s release coming so near you guys, is there any sort of competition between Bizarre and Eurocom on both games?

Jeff Lewis: Not a trace of it. We actually don’t have a lot of day-to-day contact with them as a team and are all too busy to spend much time showing each other our work. From what I’ve seen of it, GoldenEye looks great.

VG247: What is Bizarre doing in terms of multiplayer for the game besides Spies vs Mercenaries?

Jeff Lewis: The core game mode is team objective MI6 vs Mercs, but there are other game modes that you would expect in a team-based MP game such as Team Deathmatch and Last Man Standing.

VG247: Is there any DLC plans in the pipeline?

Jeff Lewis: Not that we can discuss at the moment, but stay tuned for future announcements.

VG247: Will see a demo before its release?

Jeff Lewis: Unfortunately not.

VG247: After Blood Stone, is Bond something you’d like to return to? Because obviously, you’re not done with Blur just yet and other IPs as well, I assume. But if the chance arose, is it something you’d like to do?

Jeff Lewis: It’s been quite an experience. We’ve learned so much about story-driven gaming and have acquired a lot of new skills. I can only speak for myself but I’d love to see us take what we’ve learned to the next level.

There are always restrictions when working with a license and you have to make something that works for yourself and for the people whose ideas you are working with.

Restrictions can be good for creativity though. When you’re trying to be creative sometimes a blank piece of paper is not what you want. Rules make you think, and we’re proud of what we have been able to deliver.

James Bond: Blood Stone releases on November 5 for PS3, 360, PC and DS.